Footprints in the Sand
by Courageous
Summary: AU! Living in the desert is hard, there isn't a lot of water or food... And when a demon starts terrorizing the city the king has no other choice but to contact the famous demon hunter Yami and his assistant Jounouchi. SetoxJou! Puppyshipping DISCONTINUED
1. Blood Sand

**This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic that I actually post here, I hope you'll like it, I tried my best.  
This sort of came to me in a dream and I just had to write it, so this is what you get. Well, I'll stop boring you with my useless rant, I hope you'll enjoy the story.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! obviously...

**Chapter one: blood sand**

The desert winds began to calm down as the big, yellow ball in the sky started to set. The sky was bathing in an orange-red glow and you could see a couple of stars appearing. It would be quite a beautiful picture, if it wasn't for the dangerous atmosphere that hung in the air.

In the sand outside of the city walls sat a man, he seemed to be in his mid-twenties and he was clad in a military outfit, his hand was tightly clutched around a bottle of alcohol. On his head he wore a bandana, it had the colors of the city flag, the colors he once so desperately fought for, the colors of the city he once loved with a passion; that city now mocked him. He took another sip from the bottle and looked up at the sky, cackling madly.

Two figures approached the man, they were dressed the same as he was, a hood covering their facial features.

"Keith-sama, you need to return back home," one of the men said.

"Don't use that 'sama' bullshit on me," Keith spit out, "don't try to fool me, don't lie to my face."

"Please, Keith-sama, it's not safe outside of the city walls," the other man said.

"There you go again," Keith stood up and faced the two men. He felt a bit unstable after all the alcohol he had consumed, he shifted his balance from foot to foot, causing him to wobble a bit.

"Don't try to act so polite, I know what you've been calling me behind my back. You all call me a drunkard, a screw up. You and that entire city!" he was now yelling at the city walls.

"Please…" they tried again.

"Bah!" Keith said, spitting into the sand. "Go back to your precious city, I'm staying out here." He took another swig of his bottle, and sat back down into the warm, desert sand.

One of the men made a move to try and pull Keith back up on his feet, but the other stopped him, shaking his head.

"It is sad to see you like this sir," he said, "I always looked up to you. Now you are exactly what you once loathed."

Keith just shook his head, and took another sip of the bottle.

The sun had completely set, and a million stars covered the sky. The desert was quiet and darkness surrounded everything outside.

The two men turned around, they wanted to leave the shell of the man they once admired behind, but stopped in their tracks. Two eyes lighted up in the shadows, it was as if the darkness was staring at them.

"Is that…?" one man asked, the other just nodded. It was the thing that had been terrorizing their city for months, the sudden death of hundreds of people. The demon that no one had been able to kill.

Their eyes grew wide, behind them, Keith once again got to his feet.

"You son of a bitch," he yelled at the shadowy figure, "you cost me everything!"

The two men took out their swords and got ready to defend themselves. But the creature did not move, the cerulean eyes just kept staring at them.

"I should kill you right now!" Keith yelled, but the two men held him back, holding up their swords. They tried their best not to tremble with fear.

Laughter erupted from the shadows, the demon was laughing at them. In the blue eyes, they could see a hint of amusement.

_It's laughing at us. It's laughing at _me,Keith thought and he stormed forward, even though he was only armed with a bottle. He swung the bottle at the shadows, but it was too dark to see the demon. The demon grabbed Keith by the throat and sunk his claws into his gut. A scream of pain was all that was heard when the demon threw Keith aside. Then he stormed over to the two other men, his claws ripping their flesh and pulling out their insides. Their screams filled the night sky.

Keith laid there, in the bloodied sand. The demon walked over to him and looked at him, his eyes filled with cold indifference. He then opened his wings, and flew away from the scene. Keith's eyes fluttered open, he gazed at the sky. The stars had transformed into a million blue eyes that mocked him, laughed at him.

He sat up, slowly and painfully. He then took another long gulp from the bottle that was miraculously still in his hand. He felt his blood pouring out of the wound, but he was too tired and too drunk to care.

Inside the city castle, the king stared out of the window into the desert. Over the months, he had tried his best to kill that cursed demon. But nothing had worked. The people started losing hope in their king, even the king started losing hope in himself.

"I think there is nothing else we can do," the king said, looking at one of his servants, "That demon has done enough damage enough already…"

"King Sugoroku, what do you mean?" the servant asked.

"I think we'll need the help of a professional for this," the king said, looking out of the window again, "We'll need to contact the famous demon hunter."

**A/N: I think we can all guess who that demon is. ;3  
****  
It's sort of weird that the first person to actually appear in this is bandit Keith. But in my dream, there was this drunk sitting in the sand, and I just thought "hey... Bandit Keith is perfect!"  
Also, I wasn't really sure what the suffix was for 'king' so I just wrote king. If someone knows, tell me, and I'll fix that. (:**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it, review nao? : D ahahah.  
**


	2. Jiaoyohe

**Here is chapter two! Hope you enjoy it(:**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh... yet.

**Chapter two: Jiaoyohe**

The long trip through the desert was a difficult one. The blistering sun, the constant heat, not to mention the scorpions that seemed to be everywhere. And at night, everything seemed to be backwards, and you'd freeze to death if you're not careful.

Jounouchi Katsuya sighed and looked around, the sand seemed to go on forever, and he actually started to doubt there was a city located here. Who'd be so insane to live in the middle of nowhere? He looked at the person next to him, his boss, Yami. He seemed to remain as stoic as ever, eyes focused dead ahead.

Jounouchi sighed again, he was bored, they had been travelling for days now. Several times he had tried to start a conversation with Yami, but he seemed much quieter than usual, more distant. And the guide they had taken along with them wasn't the talkative type either.

"How much longer will this take?" Jounouchi asked.

"One more day," was all the guide said.

"Why did we have to take this stupid job anyway?" He muttered.

"We need the money, Jou," Yami replied.

Sure, their last case had been a total disaster, but did they really have to travel halfway around the world just for some money? Jounouchi looked at Yami, he definitely seemed more distant than usual.

It was true, what Yami had said; they did need the money. Their last case had totally flopped, and they hadn't received any payment. They were hunting a Hai-uri (*). But, it had taken them too long to research how to kill it. When they finally went over to their clients to proclaim they had killed the vicious creature, they had found them dead. It had already eaten their heads. How could they pay them when they were dead? Of course the news had spread, and most people refused to contact them, after all: you'd have to be completely incompetent not to be able to prevent your clients' death, right? It had been a blow to Yami's pride. When they received a letter from a king no less, requesting their help, it had been a gift from the Gods themselves.

"The sun is setting," the guide said, he then pointed to a cave, "it is not safe to travel at night."

The two boys got off their camels and set up camp inside the cave, after they ate their meals the sun had completely set. The warm environment slowly changed into a cold one.

As Jounouchi laid in his comfy sleeping bag, he couldn't help but feel as if somebody was watching at him.

The next morning arrived way too soon, as Jounouchi was dreaming about nice things, such as food and lots of it. But Yami wasn't in the mood to waste time laying in a cave.

As Jounouchi and Yami got their stuff together, the guide went outside to wait.

"I don't like this case," Jounouchi complained.

"You don't even know what the case is yet," Yami said.

"I don't like the desert," he continued on.

"We'll be there soon enough," Yami sighed.

Just as Jounouchi wanted to whine about how he didn't like the sand that got everywhere, they heard the guide calling for Yami. Both of them went outside.

The guide was standing where the camels were, his one hand was covering his mouth with a cloth, the other signaled the boys to come closer. Jounouchi noticed a horrible smell lingering in the air. As they got closer they realized why that smell was there. One of the camels was ripped in half, literally. The intestines where spread out all over the sand.

"What happened?" Jounouchi asked.

"I'm not sure," the guide said, "it doesn't look like something a human could've done."

_The demon, maybe? _Jounouchi thought. He looked at Yami, he seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Who's camel is it?" Jounouchi asked.

"It's yours," Yami replied.

"What? How the hell do you know it's mine?" Jounouchi exclaimed.

"Yours was missing an ear," Yami said, "this one is missing one too."

"Well he's missing a lot of other things now too, isn't he?" Jounouchi wasn't amused. Who'd do this to a camel? Nonetheless his camel (that he had affectionally called Sparky).

"You can ride with me," Yami said.

Jounouchi grumbled and went back inside of the cave. He now started shoving his clothes in his bag, until he realized something. He was missing one of his shirts.

"Yami!" Jounouchi yelled.

"What?" Yami asked, entering the cave and taking his bag.

"Did you take one of my shirts?" Jounouchi asked.

"Why for the love of Ra would I take your shirt?" Yami asked, "come on, we have to go."

"But… my shirt!"

"It's probably somewhere in your bag, Jounouchi," Yami was clearly losing his patience.

"Ugh… fine," Jounouchi said.

In the back of the cave covered with shadows, two blue eyes lighted up.

It took them two more hours to finally reach the city. It was larger than they had expected, with large, stone walls surrounding In. It seemed the guard post that was located on top of the walls had noticed them, the giant city gates where opened. Next to those gates they had placed a sign saying "The city of Jiaoyohe". They got off their camel and said their goodbyes to the guide. One of the guards took their camel from them, and pointed the way to the castle.

"It seems the people here don't really like outsiders," Jounouchi whispered.

Yami looked around and nodded. Most of the people were looking at them, whispering at each other, some of them even glared. Outsiders really weren't appreciated in this town. There were a few market stands located on the streets, selling all kinds of things from useless trinkets, to food and water. As they walked past them, the people kept staring at them. Jounouchi started feeling really uncomfortable.

The castle was located in the middle of the city, it was a huge, gray building surrounded by royal guards. The inside of the castle was just as gray as the outside, there were a few paintings covering the walls. Most of them were of the kings that had reigned, but one got Jounouchi's attention. It was a painting of a beautiful woman sitting by a pond, but she had snakeskin wrapped around her body.

"It is good that you have finally arrived," a voice called out. They both turned around.

"King Sugoroku?" Yami asked. The king nodded.

"Why have you asked for our help?" Yami asked.

"Let's go somewhere a little bit more comfortable," the king said. They followed him through the large hallways of the castle. The rest of the castle was just as bare has the income hall. They finally entered a chamber, there was a large table with all kinds of food.

"Are you hungry?" the king asked. He needn't ask them twice, Jounouchi basically threw himself at the food. Yami was a bit more reserved than that.

While Jounouchi gorged on the food, Yami decided to ask again: "Why have you contacted us?"

"A few months ago a demon appeared, it has been killing people ever since," King Sugoroku said.

"It just appeared?" Yami asked.

"No one knows where it comes from. At first we didn't know what was going on. Every morning we found a few dead guards. Then the general of my army, Keith Howard, decided to wait for it at night with a few of his men, but to no avail. The demon had killed all of his men, only Keith got away. But at least now we knew what we were up against. From then on we've tried various things to kill it, but we never succeeded," King Sugoroku explained.

"And only your general has survived," Yami asked.

"A week ago he was once again confronted with the demon, it had wounded him, leaving him for dead. But he survived and is currently recovering in the hospital."

Yami thought for a while, and Jounouchi had stopped eating.

"I'll let you be for a while," the king said and he left the room, his guards following him.

"So," Jounouchi asked, "what do you think?"

"I'm not sure," Yami said, "there is only one person who has actually seen the demon."

"What's our next step?" he asked.

Yami smirked and looked at Jounouchi: "We'll go talk to his general, Keith Howard."

_(*) a Hai-uri is a partially invisible creature that eats people._

_**Review? :3**_


	3. Nightly Visit

**Yet another chapter : D This is all going rather fast, huh?**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own -sighs- Yu-Gi-Oh.

**Chapter three: Nightly visit**

The hospital looked just as bare as everything else in the village, it was clear by now the people weren't exactly rich. It was a rather small building, with only two doctors and a couple of nurses. The equipment was clearly outdated. There were only a couple of people staying there. One of them was Keith Howard.

"Keith-san, do you mind if we ask you a couple of questions?" Yami asked. They both sat down by the bed. Keith looked at the boys and narrowed his eyes.

"About what?" he asked.

"The demon," said Yami.

Just when the words exited Yami's mouth, Keith started laughing like mad.

_He's insane, _Jounouchi thought.

"And what exactly, do you want to know?" Keith asked, after he calmed down.

"You have seen him," Yami said, "can you tell us what it looked like?"

"I haven't seen him, kid," he replied, "I've only seen his eyes. Those blue eyes. They're like the eyes of the grim reaper himself!"

Jounouchi's eyes widened slightly. _The eyes of the grim reaper._

"I have faced him twice," Keith continued, "The first time we thought it was just some kind of beast, in the desert there are a lot of scary creatures, but this… I stood there with my best men. From the moment the sun set, those eyes appeared. It all went so fast… In only a few moments that demon had killed all of my men, only I could escape."

Those last words were only a whisper. Keith had closed his eyes.

"The whole town thinks of me as a disgrace, for sacrificing some of my finest men. For not being able to kill him… That second time, I had intended to die there. Yet those two fools showed up, and died instead of me. Once again, I was the only survivor."

Keith's eyes had gotten misty, they both realized it would be better if they left. As Jounouchi closed the door he could hear Keith crying. There's only so much one man can bear.

They went back to the income hall of the hospital. There, a nurse was stationed behind a reception desk.

"Is there any way I can see the corpses of the two men that have been killed by the demon?" Yami asked. The nurse looked slightly startled but nodded.

Jounouchi felt his stomach turn, he had no urge to see the two dead men. If they looked anything like the camel they had found dead this morning, he was sure he'd throw up. Unfortunately, they looked much worse.

The morgue was located beneath the hospital, it was a cool room. The fluorescent lights made it look like the most futuristic place in this godforsaken village. The corpses were located on a sterile table, covered with a white cloth. When the nurse removed that cloth Jounouchi had to turn away. Those were not men, those were pieces of what used to be men.

"I'm sorry, we couldn't recover everything from the scene," the nurse explained, "by the time we got there several animals had eaten parts of them. This was all we found."

"It's okay," Yami said, "I know enough."

Jounouchi ran to the nearest bathroom, and as he had predicted, he did throw up.

Yami was sure of something; the thing that had killed these men, had killed their camel as well. But, that meant that the demon had known they were there, maybe he had even been in the cave. Why hadn't he killed them? It made no sense.

That night Jounouchi skipped dinner and went straight to his room, their first day in the city had been a tiring one and all he wanted to do was get some sleep. He got changed and crawled into his bed, through his window he could see the sun setting. He definitely didn't like this case. This demon, it was different than anything they had faced before. It took Jounouchi a while to fall asleep, which was abnormal for him, but his thoughts just wouldn't leave him alone, but he fell asleep nonetheless.

_Oh God, someone help me! Someone please help me! I don't want to die, not like they had. I don't want to be torn to pieces. Please, help!_

Jounouchi woke up with a start, it took him a while to realize where he was. In the castle, in bed.

_It had just been a dream, _he thought. The demon was after him, chasing him. It all had looked so real. He had been so certain he was going to die.

He laid back for a while and waited for his heart so slow down. He was shivering all over. It took him a while to realize that the shivering wasn't 'cause of the dream, he was freezing.

Jounouchi looked over to the window. _What the… it's open? _He was so certain he had closed it before he went to bed.

Reluctantly, Jounouchi got up and closed the window again. When he turned around to go back to his bed, he could swear he saw eyes there in the darkness. Was it a side effect of the dream? He blinked once, twice. They were still there. _The eyes of the grim reaper himself! _He _had _to be dreaming.

Slowly Jounouchi went over to the nightstand and turned on the light, abandoning all the darkness in the room. Of course he had thought the eyes would have disappeared, it would be all his imagination. But sure enough, there, in the corner of his room the demon was standing. His eyes never once leaving Jounouchi's. The demon was tall, with cerulean eyes and brown hair. His skin looked light-grey and two giant, light-blue wings sprouting from his back. His hands weren't hands, they were claws. He was wearing black pants, that Jounouchi had clearly seen one of the guards wear, and… _Huh?_

"Is that my shirt?!" Jounouchi said out loud, more surprised than scared.

"Mine," was all the demon said.

"Wait," Jounouchi realized, "that means you were in that cave!"

"My home," the demon said.

Jounouchi sat down on his bed, he couldn't believe he was actually holding a semi-conversation with the demon that had killed quite a lot of people. The demon followed his example and sat down next to him.

_I'm going to die, _Jounouchi thought, _maybe, I can kill it first, after all I'm pretty good at fighting._ Then he realized that the demon had ripped apart people, even animals without any difficulty.

_I'm so dead._

"You're cute," the voice beside him said. The demon had been observing him while Jounouchi thought.

"I'm… what?" Jounouchi looked at him, he just seemed to be looking at him with interest.

"You remind me of a dog," the demon said matter-of-factly.

Jounouchi seemed to be at a loss for words. The thing that had been on a rampage for several months, had just called him a cute dog.

"You're… you're one crazy demon," was all he could say.

"Not always…" the demon looked down, his eyes were sad, maybe?

"You're not always crazy?" Jounouchi asked, he had no idea what the demon was implying.

"I wasn't always like… this," the demon said looking at his claws.

"Then, you were human before? Who were you?" Jounouchi asked.

"I don't remember," the demon said, "I only remember my name: Kaiba Seto."

"Kaiba Seto…" Jounouchi repeated, he didn't seem like a demon…

"How did you become a demon?" Jounouchi asked after a while.

"I don't remember," was all Seto said.

"Then… why did you kill those people?" he asked.

"They are evil," Seto said, observing Jounouchi once more.

"Why didn't you kill Yami and me, then?" Jounouchi asked. The constant staring made him feel rather uncomfortable.

"You're not evil," Seto said. He placed his claw on Jounouchi's cheek. "Puppies aren't evil."

A faint blush spread on Jounouchi's face as Seto moved closer to him. However, Jounouchi moved back and shook his head.

"This doesn't make any sense, how do you know they're evil?" he asked.

"You ask too much," Seto said, "you should sleep."

"How can I sleep when there's a freaking demon on my bed?" Jounouchi practically shouted.

"Sleep," Seto said once more. And as if he was touched with magic, Jounouchi fell asleep instantly, snoring included.

Seto pulled the sheets over Jounouchi, and looked at him one more time before he leapt out of the window and flew away. But first, he had closed the window again, he wouldn't want his puppy to freeze to death.

**A/N: I liked this chapter, ahaha.  
I hope you did too. ;3  
Also; HAPPY NEWYEAR! : D**

**_Review? :3_**


	4. Back to the Cave

Here you go, hope you all enjoy it.

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

**Chapter four: back to the cave**

The next morning Jounouchi awoke with a massive headache. Whilst rubbing his head he looked around his room. At first, he couldn't recall where he was, then everything started coming back to him. They were in Jiaoyohe, a desert city, chasing a demon. Hm, demon.

_Demon. _

Jounouchi's eyes widened and he ran over this his window, as if he was expecting to see the demon outside somewhere. Of course, he was nowhere in sight. Jounouchi sat back down on his bed, as numerous thoughts entered his head.

_Had it all been a dream? _He thought. But it had felt so real. Absentmindedly Jounouchi touched his cheek. He could still feel the demon's claw resting on it. He remembered what the demon had said, he had once been a human. Is that even possible? He reminded himself to ask Yami later. But that wasn't the only thing he remembered, he also remember a name.

"Seto…" Jounouchi said softly, almost longingly. Just then, he heard a loud banging on his bedroom door.

Jounouchi got up, running his fingers through his hair and walked over to the door, opening it slightly. When he saw it was Yami standing in the hallway he opened the door completely and stepped out of the way, letting Yami enter his room.

"What's up?" Jounouchi asked, he could see a worried look in Yami's eyes.

"Someone's been killed," Yami said, looking at Jounouchi, "a guard. They found him outside of the castle."

Jounouchi could feel the blood in his veins freeze. If someone had been killed, that means the demon _must_'ve been here. And that meant…

_It hadn't been a dream, _Jounouchi thought, _he had really been here, in his room._

"Anyway," Yami continued, "I thought you should know. This is the first murder that actually happened inside the castle walls."

Yami's eyes looked concerned, he was afraid the out coming of this case would be the same as their last case; death. Yami was certain of one thing; they had to protect the king. If the demon was now killing guards that protected the castle, it would only be a matter of time until he got in and killed the king. But Yami didn't understand one thing: _why? _Why would that demon want to kill the king.

Jounouchi saw the concern and fear spreading over Yami's face, so he did what any friend would do; he tried to cheer up Yami.

"Don't worry," Jounouchi said, "We'll get this bastard."

But he wasn't so certain that they would, and if that demon really had been human, wouldn't killing him be murder?

Yami just smiled at him, apparently he wasn't so sure about how they were going to handle this case too.

"Can I ask you something?" Jounouchi asked.

"Of course you can," Yami said.

"Well," Jounouchi started, "have you ever heard about a human being transformed into a demon?"

Yami stayed quiet for a moment, mulling over his thoughts.

"There are legends," Yami said, still pondering, "but you'd need exceptionally powerful magic to do that. Most stories I know involve Gods turning humans into demons."

Jounouchi stayed quiet for a moment. Maybe the demon had lied to him. Maybe he knows Yami is a demon hunter, and he's just using Jounouchi to get close to Yami. Why didn't it feel like that when he saw him the night before, though?

"Yami?" he asked then.

"What?"

For a moment Jounouchi considered telling Yami about what happened the night before, but he didn't really know how to. '_Hey Yami, last night something odd happened. That demon entered my room and told me that he hadn't always been a demon. Also he sort of made a move on me, right there on my bed and now I have the strange urge to see him again. High five!' _Even if he would say it more tactfully, he was certain Yami would get mad at him for not even trying to kill the demon. He decided he wouldn't tell Yami.

"Let's go get something to eat, I'm starving," Jounouchi said grinning widely.

After breakfast Yami retreated himself to his bedroom, where he would spend the rest of the day reading several of the very old books he brought a long, hoping that one of them would mention something about blue eyes.

Jounouchi was feeling rather guilty he was too much of a chicken to tell Yami about the previous night. He wandered the streets of the city aimlessly, trying to ignore the stares of the people that he walked past. The burning hot sun made it unbearable to be outside, but he didn't know what else to do. Even though he was Yami's assistant, he could do nothing now to assist Yami. He was stuck in this dusty hell-hole whether he liked it or not and he felt so useless.

Jounouchi sighed, once again he was bored.

He sat down on a bench that was located in the shadows, and looked at the deep blue sky.

_It sort of looks like Seto's eyes…_ Jounouchi pondered. He then sighed in annoyance, it seemed that everything he thought about involved the demon somehow. He just couldn't get him out of his head. All he could think about were those eyes and his touch. His soft, warm touch. His soft, warm touch. He didn't understand why. _Was it demon magic?_

He then realized how he could help Yami and get some answers for himself.

With a large grin and a brave feeling in his stomach he stood up from the bench. This was the best idea he ever had.

Yami slammed the book shut and threw it on the desk in front of him. He was getting more pissed off by the second. Not one of them mentioned a demon with blue eyes. He simply couldn't work with so little detail.

He got up and paced around his room. He knew that demon had been there in the cave, there was a good chance he'd still be there. Yami, however, wasn't so desperate to run head-first into danger without any proper preparation. That's more something Jounouchi would do.

"GAH!" he yelled out loud, letting out his frustrations. The more he thought about the case, the less sense it made.

Yami flopped down on his bed and looked at the ceiling.

It seemed as if the demon was trying to get revenge on the people in the city. But no one ever mentioned anything that could point to revenge. They just said, _'he showed up a couple of months ago.'_ Something must've happened then.

"Maybe they summoned him," Yami thought out loud, "and now they're afraid to admit they made a stupid mistake."

A summoning always could go wrong. People would ask a demon for various things; wealth, fame. But then why didn't any of his books mention anything about a demon with blue eyes? Maybe he'd find more information in the castle library…

As Yami made his way through one of the large halls of the castle, he couldn't help but feel as if someone was watching him. He looked around cautiously, his hands hovering over his belt. Attached to the belt was a sheathed dagger, ready for use if he was attacked. In his line of business he had learned it's better to be well prepared at all times. There were large pillars placed in the hall, and Yami was certain someone was hiding behind them. Slowly Yami began to unsheathe his dagger, ready to attack whatever was watching him.

"Ah, Yami, there you are," he heard a voice call behind him. Yami quickly sheathed his dagger once more and turned around. The king was looking at him with a wide smile. Yami narrowed his eyes.

"Here I am," he said, he didn't feel comfortable.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you," king Sugoroku said, it was more of an order than a question. Yami never took orders.

"Well actually," Yami smirked, "I was on my way to your library."

King Sugoroku's smile faltered.

"And what will you be looking for?" he asked.

"Well, I'm looking for a book on summoning demons," Yami replied, "Do you happen to have one?"

"Summoning demons?" the king looked more angry than surprised, "Are you implying we summoned that thing here?"

"Well it can't just have appeared here for no reason, right?" Yami asked, his smirk didn't disappear.

"I told you already," the king said, "I don't know where it came from, all I know is that a couple of months ago something started killing my men."

"And why exactly would he kill your men, king?" Yami taunted the king.

"I don't know, maybe because he's a demon?" The anger was evident in the king's voice, "that's what they do, killing others for no reason."

Yami chuckled silently and walked past the king. The kings gaze never once leaving his face. Yami then turned around and looked back at the king.

"That's exactly the thing," Yami said, "Mostly, they _do_ have a reason."

He then just walked away, still smirking, and left the angry king behind.

_Something definitely isn't right,_ he thought as he entered his bedroom again. He wanted to visit that library. Yami decided he'd go back during the night, as he was sure king Sugoroku would be keeping a close eye on his library.

Jounouchi stood in front of the cave with a smile on his face. If everything went okay, he'd have answers. After all, the demon wouldn't kill him, he thought he was cute.

Jounouchi patted his camel (that he had called Daisy this time) and went inside of the cave. The environment was suddenly a lot cooler, which he didn't mind. He just hoped Seto would be here.

The cave went deeper than he thought, and it was a lot darker than he'd hoped. He cursed himself for not bringing a pocket light. After wandering around for about ten minutes, he finally saw a light in the distance. Jounouchi approached the light with caution, but it was clear this was the home Seto had been referring to. And sure enough, there he was. Asleep on a worn down mattress.

Jounouchi wasn't sure what to do; should he wake him up or wait?

His answer came fast enough, as Seto's eyes flew open.

"Uh, hi," Jounouchi said sheepishly.

The next moment happened so fast, Jounouchi's brain couldn't quite grasp what was happening. Suddenly he was pinned into the wall.

"What the…" Jounouchi said, but then the demon squeezed his throat shut. He looked into the blue eyes, they were completely different from the night before. Cold, distant. There was a completely different person standing before him. Maybe it had been a dream? He had felt so certain about this when he stood in front of the cave. Now, he wasn't so certain anymore.

Soon, his vision started to become blurry from the lack of oxygen. The world started to slip away from under his feet and his head felt woozy. He was certain a few tears were escaping from his eyes.

"I'm… sorry…" Jounouchi choked out, though he wasn't sure for what.

The world slowly faded to black, as he started to fall into unconsciousness.

_I'm sorry, Yami._

**A/N: I'm sorry if this is amazingly crappy, I've been sick for the past 5 days. That's right, I got sick on newyear. |:**

**It sucks, really. You should all review and make me feel better! No? Please? ;_;**

**Ahahaha.**

**_Review? :3_**


	5. Memories of the Past

**I'm sorry I'm sorry, I know, it's been quite some time. But now, i'm back with a new chapter, and i hope you'll like it. ;-; it explains A LOT.**

**Disclaimer: **insert clever disclaimer here.

**Chapter five: memories of the past**

_The space around him was pitchblack, all he could hear was his own breathing. Jounouchi tried to talk, but no sound escaped his throat. Where the hell was he? Slowly he started to recall what had happened, Seto's hand clasped around his throat tightly, the lack of air. It all seemed so far away now… Was he dead?_

_Shapes started to form around him; he was in a big room with a stone floor, and stone walls. In the middle of the room was an altar that had chains attached to it… Was that blood on the altar? A few candles were burning on the altar, emitting an eerie light. Jounouchi did not feel comfortable in this room. _

_A door slammed open and two figures entered the room, or better yet, one figure was dragging another inside of the room. Jounouchi recognized one of them, it was the king. The other was a young boy with long black hair. _

"_My big brother will never allow you to do this," the boy screamed._

"_Oh shut up," the king bellowed, closing the door, "your brother will never even know!"_

_Jounouchi tried yelling, but still no sound escaped his mouth. He ran up to the king, and tried to take the child away from him, but his hands passed right through them. It was as if he wasn't even there. Maybe he really was dead, maybe he was a ghost, condemned to walk to earth forever._

_The king dragged the boy to the altar, and started to chain to it. Next the king opened a large book and started to chant. _

_Jounouchi tried to free the boy, but his efforts were futile, and the chains remained in place._

_Behind him, the door once again slammed open._

"_Ni-sama!" the boy shouted. Jounouchi turned around, in the door opening stood Seto, though it was not the Seto he knew, he was human. Wearing black leather pants a black turtleneck and a long white trench coat. But his eyes were still the same, a beautiful blue._

"_King Sugoroku, what is the meaning of this?"Seto asked, looking at his brother._

"_My dear Kaiba, it's very simple. We just need your brother." _

"_For what?"_

_The king just smiled and continued chanting._

_Seto's eyes darkened and he walked towards his brother. _

"_I wouldn't do that if I were you," the king said in between chants. He raised his hand, red sparks escaped from the tips of his fingers, forming a shield around him, the altar and the boy._

"_What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Seto yelled._

"_Dear Kaiba, how do you think we survive in the desert?" the king asked him. "We don't rely on other countries for our food, or water, but without a little support we would perish."_

"_So you sacrifice children?" Seto asked._

"_Indeed," the king said, "It's the only way to remain secure in this harsh desert."_

_Seto just stood there with a look of unbelief in his eyes as the king continued on chanting._

"_Well," Seto said after a while," I'm not just going to let this happen." _

_He ran towards the altar unsheathing his sword. He tried slamming it into the shield, but nothing seemed to work. The shield did not falter. Over and over, he tried to break the magical shield, but to no avail. The king had finished his chanting, and a bright orange light appeared above the altar. _

"_Ni-sama," the boy shouted, it was obvious he was crying._

"_Mokuba…" was all that Seto said, as a woman descended from the light. Well, half woman. Her legs weren't legs, but a snake tail. _

"_Oh, you brought me another one, Sugoroku," the snake woman said seductively._

"_Don't you dare touch him," Seto yelled, holding up his sword._

"_Who is this?" she asked grinning as she slithered towards Seto, leaving the protection of the shield._

_Seto smirked and said: "that was the last mistake you'll ever make." He charged towards her with his sword, but she was faster. Her tail slammed him against a wall. Seto fell on the floor, as he tried to get up once more, her tail gave him one final blow, and he remained motionless on the cold ground._

_Mokuba was frantic, yelling his brother's name over and over again. The snake woman slithered back towards him and wrapped her hands around his little frame. She unhinged her jaw and swallowed Mokuba whole. Jounouchi could still hear him screaming when he had completely disappeared, but after a while, it went completely silent._

_The snake woman laughed. _

"_See you next month, king," she said, and she once again disappeared in the bright orange light. Leaving only bloodied chains behind._

_Seto stirred, and lifted his head slowly. He had been too late, his brother was gone._

"_Now you, Seto, you cannot go telling others about this, so I'll make sure you won't be able to tell anyone." The king grinned, and from his fingertips once again red sparks appeared. They cut through Seto's skin, blood was pouring on the floor. Seto collapsed on the stone floor, while blood still escaped from his wounds. _

_As Seto's eyes closed, Jounouchi's vision became blurry as well. _

"_Just dump his body in the cave outside of town," the king ordered one of his guards, "let it rot there."_

_That was the last thing Jounouchi heard._

Darkness engulfed Jounouchi once more, and he started falling in a dark hole, until he smacked on the hard ground again. His eyes fluttered open, and he tried sitting up slowly. Someone wrapped an arm around his waist, to keep him from falling, it was Seto's arm.

"What?" was all Jounouchi said.

"I'm sorry," Seto said, "I just had to show you."

"By suffocating me?" Jounouchi yelled, his throat aching like crazy.

"I could only show you my memories if you were near to death," Seto said.

"Couldn't you have given me a head's up?" Jounouchi pushed away Seto's arm, as he got to his feet.

"You shouldn't stand up- "

"- Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do!"

It remained quiet for a while, Seto was shifting uncomfortably on the ground as Jounouchi paced around the small space in the cave.

"What did I see anyway?" Jounouchi asked after a while.

"The reason why I am the way I am now." Seto only said.

"That boy?"

"My brother."

"And the king turned you into a demon?" Jounouchi sat down once again, his head in his hands. This was getting a bit too much.

"Yes and no," Seto said.

"What's that supposed to mean," Jounouchi looked up. Seto's eyes were staring into space.

"He had meant to kill me," Seto said, "but my heart wanted revenge, so the Gods decided to be merciful and they revived me. Only I didn't wake up as myself, I woke up as this… thing."

Seto stood up and walked over to Jounouchi, then kneeled before him and took his head in his hands.

"But you can help me," Seto said, "you and your friend."

"Oh yes, you surely earned my help by choking me half to death," Jounouchi pushed Seto away again and started making his way to the exit of the cave.

"I had no other choice," Seto exclaimed, "I had to make you understand."

"You didn't HAVE to do anything," Jounouchi said.

"Please…" Seto started, "My little brother, he was all I had left… losing him was worse than losing my own life."

Jounouchi stopped in his tracks. He too had a sister than he would give his life for. Even though they didn't see each other that much, he still loved her to death. To lose someone that close to you, must be devastating.

"I need to have my revenge," Seto simply said, "normally I would never ask for help, but I am not a demon expert, and you obviously are. I need to kill that snake woman, I need to make them pay."

Jounouchi could read the anger and sadness in Seto's eyes.

"Okay fine," he said, "I'll ask Yami about it."

Seto flew forward and wrapped his arms around Jounouchi. A light blush spread on the blonde's face as he returned the hug.

When they finally exited the cave Jounouchi looked at the sky, it was a dark blue and covered in stars,

_Yami is going to be pissed off, _Jounouchi thought.

Without warning, Seto took Jounouchi in his arms and spread his wings.

"I'll fly you to the castle, you'll get there faster," he smiled at Jounouchi, and the blush returned to Jounouchi's face. One moment those hands had tried to kill him, the other they make him feel safe. As they flew over the desert sand, Jounouchi couldn't help but wish it would never end.

Sooner than Jounouchi wanted, Seto landed nearby the city gate, but far enough so the guards wouldn't spot them.

"I'll drop you off here," Seto said putting Jounouchi on his feet again.

"Uhm, thanks," Jounouchi said.

"You're welcome," Seto smirked, "After all, I can't leave my puppy in the desert all by himself, can I?"

"Hey I'm not-" before Jounouchi could finish his sentence, Seto's lips crashed into his. Jounouchi's face turned scarlet, but he kissed back nonetheless. After a while their lips separated.

"See you later pup," was all Seto said, and he took off into the night sky once more. Jounouchi touched his lips softly, as he made his way to the city gate.

The moon shone brightly through the castle windows as Yami snuck through the empty corridors. In the distance he could hear guards talking, they were coming his direction. Yami hid behind one of the pillars, covered in shadows.

"You know, I don't think that demon hunter will be able to kill the demon," one of the guards said.

"Yeah I know. It has killed so many people, what could one demon hunter do about it," the other replied.

"I don't understand why our king had to let a complete stranger into town," the first guard said.

They went around the corner and silence once again returned.

_They really dislike strangers,_ Yami thought.

The library was just around the corner, and luckily Yami didn't come across more guards, as silent as he could, he opened the heavy door and snuck inside. An overwhelming scent of old books came towards him, and Yami once again tried to close the door as silently as he could.

On the wall next to him was a torch, he grabbed it and started walking through the rows of books.

"This king really has a ton of books about demons," Yami said as he looked at the book spines. One in particular book attracted his interest. Yami took it off the shelve and inspected it more closely.

"The book of Kelsor", Yami said out loud. He would definitely be taking this book, as it held vast amounts of information about a ton of demons. Maybe their demon was in there too.

"Hello, is anyone there?" A sudden voice called out.

"Fuck," Yami said looking around frantically, he had no idea where to put the torch he was carrying.

"You know I just heard you swearing," the voice said, and… was he giggling?

"Guess it's best for me to just come out," Yami said as he walked towards the voice.

The person was standing at the door; he was a little bit shorter than Yami but had the exact same hair as him, his eyes were big and purple and he looked so innocent.

"What are you doing here, so late at night?" The person asked.

"Well, since your king didn't allow me to visit the library during the day, I decided I'd drop by during the night."

The boy frowned slightly.

"Why would grandfather not allow you inside the library?" he asked.

"Grandfather… That means, you're the prince?" Yami asked.

The boy smiled and looked at the ground.

"That's me," he said shyly.

"If he's your grandfather, then, where is your father?" Yami asked.

"My father died years ago," the prince said, "at that time I was too young to ascent the throne, so my grandfather became king again."

"I see…" Yami mused.

"I see you've found a book?" the prince said.

"I did indeed, I'll be taking my leave now," Yami said, smiling.

"You don't have to, you know… I enjoy talking to people from outside of the city…" the boy said.

"Well it is getting rather late, maybe… we could talk later?" Yami asked.

"I'd very much like that," the prince smiled, "my name is Yugi, by the way."

"Yami," he said smiling.

When Yami got back to his room, he was surprised to see Jounouchi sitting on his bed.

"Where the hell have you been?" Yami asked him, dropping the book next to Jounouchi on the bed.

"Never mind that, I need to tell you something about our precious king," Jounouchi said.

**A/N: okay so, that's all for now, I'll try to work more frequently on this thing from now on, but i've been so inspirationless for so long now.**

**I hope you'll like it. (:**

Review? :3


	6. Discoveries

**Chapter six: discoveries**

From the moment Jounouchi had uttered the last word, Yami stood up and started pacing the room, a million thoughts running through his mind.

"I can't believe this…" Yami muttered.

"Me either," Jounouchi agreed.

"I also can't believe you've been meeting that demon behind my back, and didn't tell me about it at all," Yami looked at Jounouchi, anger clearly visible in his eyes.

"I think you're missing the bigger picture here…" Jounouchi tried.

"Shut up!" Yami yelled.

It remained quiet in the room for a while. Yami started pacing back and forth, and Jounouchi didn't dare make a noise. Yami was still his boss.

"You said the demon showed you his memories?" Yami asked after a while.

"Yes," Jounouchi replied, Yami started pacing again.

"And the king was sacrificing people?" Yami asked.

"Yes!" Jounouchi started getting impatient, what was there not to understand?

"Sacrificing to a snake-demon," Yami mumbled as he moved towards the window. It was quiet outside. The sky was like a dark blue blanket, covered in stars.

"Hand me the book," Yami commanded, still staring out of the window. Jounouchi grabbed the book that was laying next to him and handed it over to Yami. He took it and immediately opened it, flicking through pages quickly.

Jounouchi rested his head in his hands, remembering the vision he had seen so vividly earlier. Seto's little brother being devoured by that snake-woman. For some reason the snake-woman seemed familiar.

_Where did I see her face before?_ Jounouchi wondered.

Yami slammed the book shut angrily interrupting Jounouchi's thoughts.

"Let me guess," Jounouchi said, "there's nothing in there about a snake-demon?"

Yami threw the book back on the bed.

"She's no regular demon," Yami said, "if she's even real."

"Why wouldn't she be?" Jounouchi asked.

"Maybe your demon was feeding you lies," Yami said, "they tend to do that."

Jounouchi stood up and walked over to Yami, looking straight in his eyes. He stopped right in front of him, then whispered: "I believe what he showed me Yami. If you actually trust me, you'd believe him too."

Then, Jounouchi turned around, and walked towards the door, as he laid his hand on the doorknob he looked at Yami once more.

"You know where to find me," was all he said. Then he left the room.

Yami let out and exasperated sigh, then once again directed his attention to the book he was still holding. He decided to look through it once more, maybe this time he'd find something.

Jounouchi had a different plan, a little investigation in the castle seemed to be in order. He hid in the shadows as he walked through the numerous hallways, hoping to find something suspicious.

He was about to give up on his plan when he heard voices. Jounouchi looked around, trying to determine where they were coming from.

His eyes widened as he realized it. They were coming from behind the wall.

He let his hands slide over the bricks, trying to find a secret passageway. But to no avail. Maybe he was just imagining things.

Jounouchi sighed and leaned his back against the wall, he then heard the strangest 'click' and then gravity kicked in. The wall had slid away from behind him, and he fell on his ass in a hidden room.

Rubbing his bottom he looked at his discovery, behind the wall was a stairway, it seemed to be going down. Jounouchi grinned and started his journey downstairs. Trying not to slip on the humid staircase.

In the distance he saw a light, he noticed he was almost at the end of the stairway. He could hear the voices grow stronger, and he tried his best not to make too much noise.

"I'm terribly sorry, my Goddess," he could clearly hear the king's voice.

"No excusessss," hissed a female voice… A terribly familiar voice.

Jounouchi stiffened, the snake-demon was there. He couldn't bring himself to move further down the stairs.

"But most beautiful Goddess, we're in a crisis with the demon attacking our city," the king said, "The people are starting to lose faith in me."

"I don't care, King Sugoroku," the snake demon said, "You will give me that ssssacrifice, or I will take one, and I'll sssstart with your grandchild."

"Of course, my queen," the king's voice was hardly audible.

Jounouchi needed to get out there. He turned around but lost his grip on the slippery stairs and to his surprise gravity had kicked in again, and he tumbled down, right into the sacrificial chamber.

Yami sighed as he closed to book once more, he couldn't find anything about a snake demon. His head told him that the demon had lied to Jounouchi. But the look in Jounouchi's eyes… He had been so certain.

He got up from his bed and walked towards the door, maybe a little walk would clear his mind. He would go see Jounouchi and apologize, it was the least he could do.

It was dark and eerie in the hallway, Yami felt like the paintings on the wall were staring at him. He stopped and looked at them, a few old kings, and a woman at a pond.

Yami's breath stopped. Why hadn't he noticed this painting before?

He had to find Jounouchi, now.

**A/N: I don't know if you guys remember the painting of the woman at the pond, if you don't, reread chapter 2. She's in there!**

**Short chapter, I know and it's been like 32093 years since I updated this, but I promise you, I'll keep on working on this. :3 I've got some new-found inspiration.**  
**ALSO HAPPY NEWYEAR! :D**


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